“Under the current US system, rich, insured patients visit doctors more than they need, running up costs, while poor patients cannot afford even simple, inexpensive treatments and die younger than they should. Doctors spend time that could be used to save lives or treat illness by providing unnecessary, meaningless care. What a tragic waste of physician care.”

If you don’t read closely here, it appears that Rosling is making the case against overuse. He in fact is making the case against a system that encourages superfluous and unnecessary care.

Our experience (and data) backs up this assertion. Usage isn’t the problem. Our data shows that there is a demonstrable reduction in costs when a patient comes to a Vera clinic just one time. In fact, our analysis of a client with 4,066 employees revealed that the total medical costs of those who used the clinic were $1,488 less per member per year than patients who didn’t utilize the clinic. And, the more time they spent with providers, the more costs dropped.

7 LIES We’ve Told Ourselves That Prevent Us From Fixing Healthcare

We constantly talk about fixing healthcare, but we lie to ourselves about what’s driving our system’s flaws. The result is that our self-deception prevents us from seeing what’s really going on, and guarantees we’ll keep making the same mistakes. In this white paper, we take on seven of those mistakes, and the lies that are driving them.

But, there’s a key to why increased frequency drives lower costs with Vera. It’s called a comprehensive care plan inside of a fixed-cost environment. Vera’s care teams develop this plan based on a patient’s health goals and then use it to guide all of their future care. So when a patient comes into the clinic more, it isn’t for superfluous reasons, but it’s to move toward their health goals. The result: reduced costs and healthier patients.